Originally Posted by Gunter Krieger

College use to be a place where only the elite with money could afford, but over the course of several decades its opened its doors to just about everyone. With more and more people going to college these days you begin to wonder. Are kids' going to college, because they have ambition and what to do something with their lives or are they simply looking for a good time partying wasting away their paretns hard earned money.

Im a student at GVSU in Michigan (Grand Valley State University) and I feel that for many the mentality is you go to college because everyone else does it and for the partying. Yes college is not neccessary, but in todays mindset your almost considered lesser of a person if you dont attend college and start a career right out of High School. My generation and the generations below me have a different point of view then our parents and grandparents. I hate to admit it, but I truely believe we have become less motivated and more reliant on our parents than any other generation.

College is no longer the place thought of as advancing your career, now it's the place you go after high school to get drunk every night and have fun. You want proof of that mentality?...Look at facebook. Many college students flaunt pictures of themselves chugging beers and holding fifths of vodka. Not to mention the main conversation for many college students starts off with "oh my god, i was so drunk last night..." Drinking and drunken stories are the thing that seems to connect with the majority of kids now. Even from personal experienc...when im at a family gathering with my cousins or talking to someone I dont know on campus the conversations usually center around drinking and partying stories.

What ever happened to the "college is a place to study for a successful and profitable career" attitude?...I can tell you it disapperead a generation or two ago. One thing I cant do though is be a hypocrite and scrutinize college kids for their attitudes and reasons for going to college. Im one of those kids afterall. I love to drink,party,be with my friends and absolutly hate the idea of going to class and god forbid....studying!!!

College is quickly becoming a thing people take for granted. The "my parents are paying for this" and "i dont have to pay off my loans till after graduation anyways" attitude is all too common in today's youth. It's not like our grandparents generation where they had to work to get ahead and break a sweat.

I just feel that college should be tougher on kids like me. You should have to work and prove yourself able to handle college in order to go...not simply graduate from high school (as if thats an accomplishment in this day and age) with mediocre passing grades, an "okay" ACT or SAT score, and just fill out a college app and BS everything on it. But dont get me wrong, there are alot of hard working college students out there that care about the future and are surely going to succeed. It's just that it seems their numbers are slowly diminishing as the years go on. Its no longer "i cant wait for college so i can work to become a somebody" its now "i cant wait for college so i can get drunk and laid at my parents expense"....